When I clutch down and depress the brakes firmly and deep, I get this odd vibration/chatter feeling on the brake pedal.
Is that normal?

 

Nope

 

is it ABS engagement?
how worn are your tires?

 

not normal. that's usually a sign that your rotors are warped and need replacing.

 

Firm and deep brake application with a resulting chatter feeling would be ABS. warped rotors would do that under all sorts of braking pressures

 

^one would question traction, instead of brakes.

 

Tires are good 80% thread.
I don't seem to get that chatter feeling when I brake that hard from gear like braking form 50mph.
I usually only feel it when i step down on the clutch as well.

I've felt the ABS engagement before on a GSR, it was more a click click feel

 

Thats precisely when the ABS modulation on mine feels "chattery". When its a low traction situation, bumps, sand etc

 

Just to clarify this problem, take the car out in a safe place and stab the brakes to engage ABS. Then you will know if what you're feeling is ABS or warped rotors.

Sometimes if you have pad deposits on the rotors, it will simulate warped rotors and it might be harder to feel with easy braking and be a little more pronounced with heavy braking. It also gets worse as the rotors start to heat up.

When you say clutch down, are you downshifting and braking at the same time? It's possible the additional engine braking along with the brakes heavily applied can try and set off the ABS.

With the descriptions so far, I'm 50-50 whether or not it's ABS or rotors. The TL's ABS pulses a lot quicker than the older cars. It's not felt quite as much in the brake pedal either.

Try some spirited driving where you're accelerating and braking more than usual. Get the brakes good and warm and see if the problem gets worse.

 

It usually occurs when I come out of a higher gear, I step down on the clutch all the way, then I firmly apply the brakes. At this point the stick is in center position since I have the clutch depressed all they way and then I feel that chatter in the brake pedal. I only experience it when the clutch is depressed with the brake firmly.

 

Hello guys, I have brake chatter, or brake shackiness.
I think it's my rear brakes. I have in the front 6 spd 2004 TL.
Today- I took apart the rear calipers.

Driver rear side- removed pads, checked the pads, and removed the caliper pins, cleaned with, Q tips and brake cleaner. I relubed the caliper pins with high temp grease.

Passenger rear side- removed pads, checked the pads, and removed the caliper pins, 1 pin was stuck. I turned it loose and cleaned with, Q tips and brake cleaner. I relubed the caliper pins with high temp grease.

I thought since one caliper pin was stuck That this was causing the problem.
I drove it tonight. And the brake shake is still there.

It is very subtle- more if a humm. And the longer you press the brake as you slow down the more vibration humm you feel.

It happens at speeds 30 mph- and 50mph and 80 mph.
Happens on light braking and hard braking.

Not sure if I should bed the pads again?

THIS BRAKE SETUP WAS PURCHASE 2 years ago from
XLR8 performance- here on acurazine.
Bought rear slotted Rotora rotors, and stop tech brake pads.

Pads still have some life on them when I checked today.
Rotors look like shit - all rusted up after the first month. I guess after spraying brake cleaner on the new rotors prior to installing the nice black coating is all rusted and flaking.

But is anyone else getting this slight shaking feeling on the car while applying the brakes.
My steering wheel does not shake.
My tires just have been replaced.
I just got a week ago a wheel alignment and wheel balancing.

I have been driving with this shimmy feeling for 2 months now.
Please help guys.

 

Sorry , I did not double check my grammar .

I have brembo brakes in the fronts
2004 Acura TL 6 spd manual.
Thanks

 

Shop said my rotor was warped.

 

Well after cleaning all caliper pins and 1 was found to be stuck /seazed and relubed pins, nothing changed after driving and pressing the brakes.

Well last night. I did the stop tech bed in procedure.
Brakes were nice and Hotttttttt- did my last 80-20mph stop- and drove around for 15 minutes to cool the brakes.


Today- brakes feel very nice and smooth.

Thanks all

 

At what point can a rotor no longer be turned?
Shop wanted me to get new rotors and pads, even though he said my pads had plenty of life left.

Even if the rotors are warped can't I still reuse my pads on new rotors?

 

It's always better to get new ones. Removing material will mean the rotor will run hotter. It's not the end of the world if you turn them but avoid it if you can. The price difference is usually pretty close.

To answer your question, there's a factory spec on how thin the rotor can be. Most of the time it's marked on the rotor itself with either a number or a mark. It's better to use the mark method because going by measured width only doesn't account for core shift in the manufacturing process and one side could be too thin while the other is fine and the rotor will technically be in spec.

With all of that said, most "warped" rotors are not warped at all. When they get hot and especially if they get hot and you come to a complete stop with the brakes on like a redlight you end up with pad transfer onto the rotor. This feels the same as a warped rotor but it's just uneven pad deposits on the rotor.

The cure is to run a more aggressive pad to make sure it does not do this again. They can turn the rotor and barely "kiss" the surface to remove the pad deposits or you can run an aggressive pad and do an aggressive bed-in procedure that will remove the old pad material.

Brake shops still haven't gotten the memo about pad deposits unfortunately. They will blindly claim a rotor is warped.

Usually a shop will push turning them instead of replacing them on you because it's pure profit for them. All labor and not much labor at that. No parts required. I'm surprised yours is suggesting new rotors, that's good.

Swapping brake pads is a good idea with new rotors but not necessary. Personally I would buy a more aggressive pad from one of our vendors to stop this from happening again. It's usually the pad's fault.

 

There's a certain specification/measurement at which point a rotor can no longer be refinished.

MAX REFINISHING LIMIT:
A/T Model: 26.0mm (1.02in.)
M/T Model: 23.0 mm (0.91in.)

 

I'm not, they take me for a noob and drafted up a neigh $475 for a pair of new front rotors and pads.
All for one "warped" rotor....
I'm not gonna let them do it.

 

That's actually not too bad. For a 6MT, the larger front rotors plus new brembo pads will run you at least $360 (about the cheapest you can get from some of the vendors here). So $115 for labor doesn't seem unreasonable considering all the horror stories of people with stripped caliper bolts on the brembos and how difficult they can be to work with if you're one of the unlucky ones.

 

Agreed. That's not bad at all. I don't think anyone is trying to screw you. I would still buy a better set of pads off of a vendor and have them install the pads so the problem doesn't happen again.

 

Brakemotive sells rotors + pads for 220 for Type S and MT models....might wanna look into that if on a budget

 

Do a search, I've posted the service manual specs on the rotors many times. It all depends on "run out" as to whether or not the rotor can be turned and still be in spec. In addition, not all warped rotors can be fixed by turning, so you may just have to replace the rotor. If the rotor has to be replaced, I'd just go ahead and replace both at the same time.

The other option (since you're not a n00b) is to just order a set of rotors and pads and DIY. Brakemotive has a great deal on rotors. Check out their group buy thread.

 

I have a pair if brand new stoptech brake pads- 4 sale-
6 mt. Acura TL 2004-2008
If interested. I will sell them for $81

 

They weren't quoting OEM, they were quoting their so called "performance" parts, which they did not give the names to. They were not HAWKS or anything.

Rotor may not be bad, I'm beginning to doubt their assessment.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/do-i-really-need-new-rotors-868399/